Andrew Hall’s $100m payday looks more likely

Citigroup’s contract with energy trader Andrew Hall, which reportedly could pay him up to $100 million this year, will not be subject to rulings by the Obama administration’s pay czar, a source close to the bank said on Wednesday…

The source said Hall’s contract will be exempt from review by the pay czar because it was signed before a cut-off date of Feb. 11, 2009…

It was not immediately clear why Feb. 11 was the cut-off date.

My guess is that this just means Hall will cash his $100 million and leave, in one form or another. Certainly there’s no chance of him getting such a rich contract again.

On the other hand, what if his contract doesn’t expire for many years yet? Would Feinberg really be powerless to control the pay of Citi’s top-paid employee indefinitely? And if so, who made these rules?